This powerful, sweeping novel continues the saga of Dshurukawaa, the Tuvan shepherd boy introduced in The Blue Sky. Torn between the onset of visions and pressure from his family to attend a state boarding school, the adolescent Dshurukawaa attempts to mediate the pull of spirituality and pragmatism, old ways and new.

Taken from his ancestral home, Dshurukawaa reunites with his siblings at a boarding school, where his brother also serves as principal. Soon he comes to understand that the main purpose of the school is to strip the Tuvans of their language and traditions, and to make them conform to party ideals. Struggling to escape oppression by excelling in his studies, Dshurukawaa and his family are soon at odds with the system, placing his brother in danger. When tragedy strikes, Dshurukawaa begins to sense the larger import of his visions, and with it a way to honor.